Smile Junkies
by Flamist.Rika
Summary: After rescuing Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit, Lex a tough trainer who loves her pokemon is taken hostage by Cyrus and while she deals with him, her pokemon go on their own adventure in search of their beloved trainer. CyrusXOC
1. Chapter 1

Smile Junkies

Chapter 1

"Stand still." A woman directed sternly but gently as her pokemon warily shifted while she pulled out an antidote canister, sitting at a table in the Café Cabin. On lookers watched the scene quietly. Her Buneary squeaked and the woman put her hands in her lap as it looked at her, the others doing the same. "I know you don't like the antidote but it only hurts for a moment." Her pokemon nervously looked down, "If you take the antidote, I'll get everyone Moomoo milk." Her pokemon clumsily climbed up into her lap with a new found eagerness, making their owner laugh. "That's the spirit. Hold still." Their trainer said and sprayed the antidote on their wound, relieving their poisoned temperament and the Buneary chirped happily and jumped down to let her owner get up and go to the counter of the café.

"Your pokemon are so cute." The server complimented and their owner looked back at them, smiling, reaching down and petting her starter pokemon, an Empoleon. "Yes. But sometimes they huddle around me so much I trip." The server laughed as her Empoleon, Ravage, nuzzled her hand.

"What are their names?" The Server asked and the trainer turned to her pokemon.

"This handsome Empoleon here is Ravage. The cute Buneary over there is Lala, the Luxray is Jasmine, the Cranidos is Raptor, and this cute little Budew is Dusk." The Woman explained and the pokemon reacted happily to their names. "I'm Lex." The Waitress smiled, "Could I get ten-" Lex looked back at her pokemon before looking at the saleswoman, "Make that fifteen, Moomoo milks?" the Woman looked surprised.

"Wha- Fi-fifteen?" the woman asked, the owner looking over. "They're 500 per bottle…" Lex withdrew, thinking about it.

"Is fifteen too little? Ok, how about twenty-five. We have a long way to go and I promised them Moomoo milk. I can pay the full price don't worry." Lex smiled and the sales woman stammered going,

"Tw-Twenty five! I don't even-!" She said before Raptor jumped on the counter and growled, scaring the woman enough to jump, "EEK!" "Raptor, don't get on the counter's please." Raptor looked at it's owner before it jumped down and rubbed it's head against her leg in a gesture for the desire to be pet. "I'm sorry about that. Would you just give me at least five to feed my pokemon?" The owner went over to the saleswoman stammered.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?" The Owner asked and Lex looked over.

"Not at all. I just asked this woman for twenty five Moomoo milks and she seems to be having some type of problem in accepting that's what I want." Lex explained bluntly, "I have the money but if I can't get what I'm asking for then I suppose I'll have to, regrettably, take my patronage else where." Lex added, frowning sadly, gently petting Raptor. "I promised these guys Moomoo milk…"

"I'll ring you up, miss." The owner said, going behind the counter to do so. There was the clinking of the cash register before the total came up. 12,500. Lex paid without hesitation and with a smile, taking five bottles and giving them to Lala, "Take these to a table please." Lala smiled and the pokemon went to a table, waiting as their owner put the milks in her bag before sitting down at the table herself and helping take the lids off the milks, giving one to each pokemon, personally feeding each one. "Slow down, Raptor, there's lots more." She advised and Raptor's hurried gulps slowed to casual ones. When they had finished Lex smiled, "Ready to go guys?" They let out a union of mix-matched responses and she smiled, "Ok. Thank you." Lex said, waving to the owner, the pokemon waving good-bye as well before they all went outside. "Ok everyone, time for the poke balls." They stood in a single file line and allowed themselves to be put back in their balls without a fuss and she smiled, getting her bike off the bike rack and getting on.

Lex was a trainer who had gotten into her journey not too long ago and usually took the cautious route. Cautious as in, she would try to stay close to a poke-center when she could. But she was a good trainer who treated her pokemon like individuals, even though sometimes she treated them like children of her own she loved them none the less. Any pokemon she got she took care of with love and affection though she felt guilty leaving them in poke box. What was she going to do right now? Train them in the tall grass on route 210 of Sinnoh, with pokemon in their level range to level them up. This time she had encountered a Ponyta (Level 18) and called upon Lala for assistance. "Lala, test out that new Jump Kick move of yours!" "Buneary!" Lala responded, jumping up and kicking the Ponyta, almost knocking it out unconscious but it got back up and Lala ran back over to her owner as Ponyta whipped it's tail about, "Quick attack, Lala!" In the blink of an eye, the Ponyta was on the ground, passed out. "You did great Lala, thanks for the assistance!" "Buneary." Lala responded happily and followed Lex as they searched for more pokemon to battle.

"Here, you got hurt too, didn't you Lala?" Lex asked, kneeling down and spraying her pokemon with a potion, "There you go honey." Her pokemon happily hugged her leg and she picked it up, letting it perch on her shoulder as she walked around. Lala looked at her trainer as she walked, moving things out of the way for Lala and smiling at the Buneary. "You alright up there?" Lala nodded and her owner smiled happily. "That's good." Lala jumped down and Lex stopped. "What's wrong, Lala?" Lex asked as her pokemon began to glow vividly and grew size before the light faded and Lex blinked. Her Buneary had evolved into a Lopunny. "Oh Lala you're so pretty." Lala blushed and peeped, shyly covering it's face. "I think you should go in your ball now. I don't want you to get taken or anything." Lala jumped up and down before being pulled into her poke ball through a beam of red light.

Lex pulled out a max repel and took the cap off, spraying it on her clothes before riding her bike the rest of the way to Veilstone City, riding to the Poke Center and healing her pokemon. She went to the PC and put her Budew in the box and pulled out her Noctowl, Owly. She pulled out a key to a storage room in Veilstone that she had . Lex had been training her pokemon to overcome the awaiting challenges but she wasn't sure if they were ready for it. She wasn't sure if she was ready. She took a deep breath and left the poke center, opening the poke ball of her Cranidos.

Raptor growled and then snorted, calming down and nudged his muzzle under her hand and it looked up at her bright smile. "Hi there Raptor." It gave a half growl and looked down. "We're going to be fighting a lot. You ready for it?" Raptor snorted affirmatively to her question, ready for anything she was and Lex laughed, looking through her bag for something, and Raptor looked over, seeing a tall, pale man with spiky blue air. Raptor watched the man suspiciously. The man seemed to be looking directly at Raptor, who had other blue-haired, strangely dressed people with him. No- he was looking at Lex

Raptor glanced at his trainer before looking back at the man who was just standing there and staring. Raptor barked and ran over, Lex perking up when she heard the bark and looked over,. "Raptor!" She exclaimed before her pokemon rammed into the man's stomach, knocking him onto his butt. Raptor growled warningly at the man as Lex grabbed her bag and ran over to where her mischievous pokemon had run off to.

"Raptor!" Raptor glanced back and got off the man, running over and jumping up, Lex catching him before he caused harm to himself. "Oh my, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't know he'd run off," Lex apologized and Raptor growled at the man, his associates helping him up. One of them began yelling at her.

"Who do you think you are, letting your pokemon running rampant like that?" they yelled at her and Lex stood her ground despite how she became a little nervous from the yelling and Raptor roared at the man, jumping from her hold and knocking them down too before standing in front of his owner. "You and your stupid pokemon better watch where you're going- AH!" The other person yelled, Raptor slamming them down too and barking.

"I'm really sorry, I hope you're not hurt." Lex said to the fallen people and the spiky-haired man as she picked up her Raptor. The man looked at her, "If there's anything I can do to make up for it, then please tell me, otherwise I'm afraid I'll have to leave…"

"No. It's…fine." The man said, "Your pokemon must have thought I was a threat of some sort." The man looked at her and she locked eyes with him. "It was only being protective."

Lex smiled warmly, "Yes. I truly am sorry. Please accept my apologies again but I must go." she said, bowing to him and continuing on to the store house as the man stood there while she left.

"You and your adamant nature get me in a lot of trouble sometimes." Lex told Raptor who rubbed his muzzle into her cheek. "Silly boy." She smiled and pet him affectionately as she went to the warehouse. "Raptor, be my look out, ok?" She asked as she set Raptor down on his feet in the old and dimly lit warehouse. Raptor stood there, looking around as she used the key in the door before there was a snap and she twitched. "Ah-" she said, Raptor looking back as she held a broken key end in her hand, "It- it was so rusty and old that it broke…" She sighed, "That's a bad omen. Come on Raptor, the door's open now." Lex voiced and Raptor happily followed her as they entered a small room that held a desk with a laptop on it and a chair, as well as a staircase that went to the above floor. "Well, you want to do first?" She asked Raptor who growled and struggled up the stairs. Lex laughed and picked him up, carrying him up instead of letting him struggle with a task that he couldn't finish.

On the floor above there weren't many other trainers, just Team Galactic members. Raptor needed no help knocking out the opponents in front of them- and knocking down their owners too before following his trainer, and after a while, he was leading the way despite how he got lost repeatedly. Thankfully he had his owner to help redirect him when he was too far off the path. "Here, I'm going to put this on you so don't lose it, ok?" Lex told him, taking off the strap she kept her poke balls on, a putting it around his neck, "Those are all your friends." Raptor puffed up his chest proudly before following her until they came to a hall way that made her stop, there were two grunts trying to rush her before a pokemon battle.

Lex was thrown to the ground and a exclamation coming from her throat before Raptor stepped in and roared, a bright light filling the hall made his owner and the enemies covered their faces from the brightness of the burst. When it faded, a huge blue and black dinosaur stood before them and in front of Lex. Her Cranidos, Raptor, had evolved into a Rampardos and it's roar shook the walls, and the Team Galactic members nervously attempted to continue their attack on his trainer before Raptor spun around and smashed the both of them into the wall with it's long tail before exhaling from it's nostrils.

"Ra-Raptor?" She questioned and it pushed it's muzzle into her hand to be petted for it's good work. Lex pet him and Raptor growled happily. "Look at you, you're so big!" Raptor stood proudly and she laughed as he looked down the hall, "Yeah, alright, I get it." It helped her up, the black strap of poke balls still around his neck as they continued on down the hall, battling, before finally getting to the Office that held the Boss of Team Galactic, and their target. "Raptor." Raptor looked at her as they stood outside of the door, the key card to the door mechanism in Lex's hand. "No matter what…those pokemon they… they have to be saved." Raptor grunted and nodded. "Even if I get in trouble you have to save them." she told him, "Ok?" Raptor nodded and she swiped the key card. "Here we go!" She proclaimed and Raptor crouched, ready for action as the door opened to reveal the man Raptor had knocked down but she didn't pay attention.

Lex ran down a hallway to the right as the man called in guards and Raptor skidded to block the door way for his owner, growling at the man. It was the same one Raptor had head butted- and the guy didn't seem to forget either. It tried to stand it's ground as other pokemon were called out. Raptor roared and fought them on his own, the man running past him while Raptor fought. Raptor knocked out the pokemon, attempting to chase the man down before his lackeys got in the way.

In the control room, Lex pushed the Commander guarding the machine in the room that held the red 'release' button, and slammed her fist down on the button. This released the pokemon, but not before the Commander got back to his feet. He wrapped his arms around hers, locking them against her sides and lifted her up and away from the machine as the three newly freed pokemon left, "Put me down!" She yelled, struggling, her back against the man's chest as the blue haired man came in. "I didn't give you permission to do such a thing." The man with blue hair told her, Raptor coming in and roared, growling at the man.

"Yo-you're the mister from earlier!" Lex said in surprise, Raptor growling louder.

"Yes. Your pokemon knocked me down. I think you should take responsibility for that and releasing my specimens." The man said, reaching for her, then receiving a violent kick to the stomach. "NGH!" He grunted before other pokemon surrounded Raptor who growled at them, "You defiant little-!" He hissed and Lex yelled. "Raptor, Get out of here, quick!" Raptor twitched and hesitantly turned around, running off down the hallways, not knowing where he was going. He skidded to a stop before whipping back around. His claws dug into the slick metal floors to keep him from sliding before running back to the area his owner was in.

But she was gone. Along with the Blue haired man and the blue haired commander. Raptor roared angrily and sat down, roaring and barking broken-heartedly.

~O~O~ With Lex ~O~O~

"Get your hands off of me!" Lex said sharply before she snatched her cuff-bound wrists from Saturn, the blue-haired Team Galactic Commander, and she hastily tried to hit him. It only resulted in pushing him away from her and to the other side of the black town car that she had been dragged into.

"Stop being so violent," Saturn said, trying to get her to stop but his actions were in vain and his boss, Cyrus, watched with interest and somewhat amusement.

"Saturn, that's enough. Leave her be. Can't you see she's in a state of shock?" Cyrus said and Saturn withdrew, sitting somewhat begrudgingly on the other side of the car seat and Lex scooted over to the other side. She looked down, trying to calm down, her face flushed a light cherry color from her frustration and flustered temperament. She was scared and confused. Was Raptor alright? How was Lala? Ravage? Jasmine? Owly? She covered her face with her bound hands. "Are you frightened?" She blinked and looked over at the man across from her.

Lex lowered her head, looking back at the floor, too embarrassed or too prideful to admit it. "There's no need to be. I'm sure you need an introduction-"

"You're Cyrus, and this one next to me is Saturn." Lex said bluntly and he chuckled. "Very good. I wasn't joking with what I said. You have caused me a lot of trouble and you're going to pay me back for it all." Cyrus said and Lex twitched at the following sentence that passed his lips. "Don't worry, your pokemon will be taken care of."

"You-!" Lex said, her face turning redder, "Don't you touch them!" She ordered, not going to let some scum bag hurt her friends. "You're not in a position to give orders." Cyrus pointed out and Lex looked at him sharply, hate and defiance mixing in her deep blue eyes. "If you…" Lex started, "If you hurt them, I'll jump out of his car. At the speed we're going I'll be dead once I hit the pavement." She finished and Cyrus laughed.

"Playing the part of the martyr? If you don't try to run away, they'll be unharmed." Cyrus offered his deal but even as sweet as he tried to make it sound, it left a bitter taste in Lex's mouth. She thought about it before sighing softly.

"Y…" Lex swallowed down the lump in her throat, "I won't run." She told him and Cyrus leaned back against the beige leather of the seats.

"I didn't hear your name." Cyrus told her and Lex looked at him, "I also suggest that you heed my…suggestions." Lex glared at him, "Such as sitting on my side of the car." Lex felt the car pull off and slowly roll to a stop before she reluctantly moved from her seat and sat far away from him on his side as the car started moving again. The rush of movement made her wobble and lose her balance, falling into him in an oh-so-cliché way but he smirked. "You learn quickly," He commented sarcastically as she pulled away before he grabbed her bindings and pulled her back roughly, forcing her torso to be tightly pressed against his. "I haven't heard your name."

"…Lexia." Lex said quietly, Cyrus raising an eyebrow as she looked away from him to hide the fact that she hated her name. "Just 'Lex' is fine." "Cyrus." "I know." The car came to a stop and Saturn got out first, Cyrus unlocked Lex's wrist restraints and they clicked to the floor giving Lex enough time rub them before Cyrus grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the car roughly. "Stop-!" Lex said, pain wrapping around her spine from the violent and brutish actions of him dragging her here and there, so much she couldn't pay attention to her surroundings and she fought against him. "Please!" Cyrus halted and turned halfway to her as she stood there, panting lightly from the exhaustion of trying to fight his vice-like grip while having her arm feel like it was about to detach from it's socket.

"What did you say?" Cyrus asked and she looked at him with faintly red cheeks.

"Stop." "After that." "Please." Cyrus stood in front of her, "Say it again." He said, Saturn holding the elevator open. "Please." Lex said and he stared at her for a moment, as if contemplating what to do before she added, "you're hurting my arm." He continued to stare at her in silence, before looking back at Saturn who jumped to attention.

"Take the stairs." Cyrus ordered and Saturn quickly exited the elevator as Cyrus took it for himself and he newest captive, pressing the button for the pent house and when the doors shut and the elevator began to move he released her, watching her rub her wrists as if to numb the pain he had brought to them. "Smile." He said and she looked up at him, confusion on her features and in her eyes. "Smile for me." Lex hesitated on this strange request but remembered the first day she met Ravage and she smiled happily.

"Is this alright?" She asked and Cyrus nodded, looking her over. Even with her gentle smile that was fading ever so quickly, she hugged herself as if to protect herself with her arms crossed over a red plaid dress that didn't look too well on her. It covered her chest but from where he was standing he could see the deep line of cleavage and how it didn't adequately hide her curves, even with her black ankle boots or her long dark brown hair. "Don't look at me like that." Lex said, turning away from him and his strange-feeling gaze. "It's making me uncomfortable." There was a chime and the elevator doors opened and he pulled her to a room before she even got a good look at things.

She was thrown on a bed and she twitched as he towered over her on his knees while pinning her under him. She felt like a mouse in the clutches of a cat, "Your eyes." Cyrus said and she looked at him, "Look at me when you smile." He ordered and she flushed.

"This is really sudden and really confusing. I just want to go home-" Lex started before he kissed her and she pushed him off. "Stop it."

"That smile you made, when we first met today, made me feel strange." Cyrus confessed and she blushed heatedly, not liking this situation at all. "You're never leaving here." Tears swelled up in her eyes as he told her this and ran down her face, "Your emotions are so wasteful but if you keep smiling then I'll-" Cyrus stopped, seeing how she was on her side, covering the lower half of her face as she cried. Aside from the occasional intake of air, she didn't make a sound. She laid there, crying and shaking slightly.

"Just let me go." Lex sniffled, looking at him and turning to lay on her back, "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I just wanted to help them…Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie…" She covered her face, "I'll pay you back for the damages but my pokemon- they must be worried sick and scared. I can't leave them alone." Cyrus narrowed his eyes, staring at her.

"As I said before, you are to take responsibility. You're not leaving and you can't run away. You agreed to these terms." Cyrus told her, touching her hair. It was soft and silky and before he knew what he was doing, he had buried his face in it, taking in the strange smell. Nanab Berry. Yes, her hair smelt like nanab berry but he liked it. "They'll be fine." He said softly and she attempted to push him off the bed and he attempted to fend off her blows before the both of them fell to the floor, Lex on top of Cyrus, the bed sheet having fallen with them and tangled them together tightly. Her left hand was on his shoulder and her right hand was on the floor, helping her support herself while his hands were on her thighs just below her butt. Tears still remained in the corners of her eyes as she sniffled and stared at him with a embarrassedly flushed face and he stared back. "You're like a mother…" Lex twitched, "Who got separated from her children. I see that you have some type of strength about you, both physical and mental. If you calmed down perhaps we could talk like adults."

"Never. Unhand me you pervert-" Cyrus's finger brushed against something warm and she shivered, letting out a quiet moan, "Do-Don't touch me!" She flushed and Cyrus looked at her stoically as she squirmed to escape his touch but the sheets constricted her movement further. She was scared and embarrassed and now she was trapped against him.

"Once again you are in no position to be giving me orders." Cyrus repeated himself, on the basis that perhaps she had not heard him clearly before. "Why are you struggling?"

"Because I don't know anything about you and all of a sudden you separated me from my pokemon, brought me here, started talking strange to me even though we have no relation what so ever, and started molesting me." Lex said, tears in the corners of her eyes, "I…I'm scared and you're saying embarrassing things that make me even more scared and embarrassed." Cyrus stared at her. "I can't smile like this." She added, covering her face as he thought about something before he began to writhe as well, getting his arms free and began to tug at the sheet. It tightened around them, making her squeak

"Just hold on." He instructed coldly and she laid down awkwardly on his chest as he unbound the sheets from them. She got up and left the room as he threw the sheet back on the bed, looking out of the door way into the living room and family room, able to see the kitchen and the front door as well. She hadn't left, but she sat on the couch, playing with the ring on her left thumb. Now that he noticed it, she had a ring on either thumb finger, as if it was some type of universal symbol for something he didn't know nor comprehend. She stared at the rings as she turned them around on the delicate fingers they rested on, as if it was a technique to calm herself. Maybe it was, what would he know? "I think we got off on the wrong foot." He voiced from behind her, then sat in a chair opposite of her and she looked at him warily. "I am Cyrus, leader of Team Galactic. Your pokemon knocked me over today for staring at you and when I saw you smile I got a strange sensation in my chest that I quite liked. I would appreciate it if you smiled more." Cyrus explained and she looked at him.

Did he mean that… he fell in love with her smile? Her cheeks felt hot again, "You're going to stay here until I say otherwise." Lex looked down and Cyrus watched as she quietly played with the rings on her thumbs, before he got up and took of his Team Galactic ring and slid it on her wedding ring finger, putting his hands on either side of the couch behind her head and looked at her silently.

"And…until I 'repay you' I'm guessing I can't leave unless I'm with you." "Very perceptive." "I've read this type of situation in books…eventually the girl falls for the guy or she runs off with someone else." Lex said, and Cyrus just stared at her. "Will you run off with someone else?" he asked earnestly.

"I can't leave so I guess I can't…"

"Then fall for me." Lex looked up at Cyrus in surprise. "You'll smile a lot more if you do, right? Then fall for me and do it quickly." Lex was annoyed by his cocky and arrogant attitude and his stoic expression.

"You have to put forth effort too if you want something like that to happen!" She yelled at him and Cyrus withdrew from the yell, relaxing, he just stared at her. "You can't just wish for it to happen." Cyrus stood up.

"You're right, Lex." Lex shivered from the way he said her name. "I will put study on this matter and then you will fall for me and smile without hesitation or holding back." Cyrus concluded and Lex frowned as he left, sighing and wondering if her pokemon were ok.


	2. Chapter 2

Smile Junkies

Chapter 2

Raptor had searched the area for Lex's bag, finding it and picking it up the straps of it in his mouth and lifting it up. The bag swayed and knocked off one of the poke balls from the black strap around Raptor's neck which resulted in it falling to the ground and rather ungracefully landing on the button that enlarged it, bounced, and landed on the same button again, releasing a pokemon before the ball rolled away. Out came Lala, falling on the floor and squeaking in pain, Raptor staring at her before Lala got to her feet and looked around for Lex, happy to have been called upon. "She's not here." A gruff voice said and Lala looked at Raptor. "Oh, It's Raptor. I just evolved." "I evolved too. So where is Lex?" Raptor looked down and Lala smiled, "Is she hiding? Are we playing hide-and-go seek with her?" Lala asked happily.

"No. Someone took her. She gave me her poke balls." Raptor said and Lala looked at him, "We should let everyone else out." Lala nodded and climbed up Raptor's side, pulling the poke balls off but left the strap and She fumbled with them. The both of them did until they figured out how to call the others.

"So, what do we do?" Jasmine asked and they looked to Raptor, who had been the last one to be with their master and didn't know what to do. He thought about it then an idea came to mind.

"Maybe Jasmine can sniff out her scent on the things in her bag?" Raptor offered and they all agreed this was a legitimate idea. "But what if we have to attack pokemon?" Ravage questioned and Raptor answered, "We run away. We have to look for Lex first, battles and stuff come later, We'll do that with Lex." Raptor said, setting the bag down, "Also, we should crush the things we came out of so no one can capture us again." The others destroyed the poke balls they came from as Jasmine sniffed a jacket that belonged to Lex. "We have to try not to get captured." Raptor advised and everyone agreed, "Alright, I got the scent." Jasmine said and Lala zipped up the bag before Raptor put his head through the straps and carried it on his back, "Let's go!" Raptor roared and they followed with, "YEAH!" before Raptor slammed into the door in the storage room, breaking it down and they exited into Veilstone city.

0 Pastoria City 0

Lexia (Lex) sat on a couch in Cyrus's office in a temporary office within one of his bases and she read to herself quietly. Occasionally, he would glance over at her and when she caught his glances she would hold the book up to cover her face and not too soon after, he would look back at the computer monitor he was so absorbed in. _He keeps looking at me… _Lex thought, shivering lightly, _It was flattering at first but now it's kind of creepy. _When she didn't notice his glances he'd just stare at her as he typed emails before he'd look back at the screen to find something different every time.

'Caramel hair spread against white sheets' He had written the first time and he highlighted the sentence and deleted it, feeling like a moron. The second time it was, 'Lips of almost ruby red but not that catch every parcel of light that is reflected on them.', this sentence he deleted as well. He'd just stare at her, looking back to his emails or his research when her blue eyes met his own pair of blue eyes. She looked so peaceful, sitting there and reading. Behaving. Not like her violent display in the lab after she had released his specimens or when he threatened to put her pokemon 'out of business' so to say. He just watched her, trying to mentally dissect her as she obliviously turned the page.

What made her tick? Why did she act the way she did? Why did she care for pokemon that had no relation to herself? Why? Cyrus looked at her again and she looked back, frowning this time, "You keep looking at me…" She voiced, surprising him a bit, "Is there some type of problem?" What now!

"No problem." Cyrus told her, calm and collected, "Does there seem to be a problem?" Lex looked back at the book, Cyrus still watching her, and she tried to ignore him but it was slowly getting harder to ignore it until she snapped under the pressure.

"Stop staring at me." She said and Cyrus continued to stare and she squirmed, feeling uncomfortable, "Knock it off." Cyrus got up and walked over, sitting on the couch and she put the open book between them, holding it up to block his unwavering gaze, "Stooop!" "Am I bothering you?" "YES!" Lex scooted away from him until she was against the arm of the couch, Cyrus gently lowering the book as she looked away, eyes closed. Cyrus lowered the book until it was in her lap, almost face to face with her with only inches keeping them from being in that zone.

"Say it and I'll stop." Cyrus told her bluntly and Lex whimpered, covering her eyes with a hand, "What? Say what?" "What you said yesterday. I asked you to repeat yourself." Cyrus reminded her, a hand on the couch to steady himself as he towered over her, his left hand lightly on the book as she took a minute to herself to remember. "Please" She said softly and Cyrus waited patiently as he responded with, "Use it in a sentence and perhaps I'll stop." Lex looked at him, "Please stop staring at me and get off of me." Cyrus gently moved her to lay under him and she blushed.

"No." He replied, "The moments I look away you're smiling at this book but the moments I catch a glimpse of you, you stop." Cyrus told her and Lex stared at him. "Smile for me. If you do, I'll feel strange but if you don't..." Cyrus said and she blushed darker.

"Could it be that…you're jealous of the book?" Lex questioned and Cyrus thought about it. Jealous? Jealousy? That was an emotion and he didn't have it so, "I'm not." Cyrus said and Lex stared at him. Cyrus's mind hesitated, going blank for a mere moment and his body moved on its own. He leaned down and kissed her and she laid under him, blushing. His left hand slipped under the small of her back and lifted her up closer to him, her hands on his chest to at least keep some distance up. He regained control and his own consciousness and let her go with the lingering taste of vanilla on his lips. That was actually quite…enjoyable. Lex closed her eyes again, as he opened his mouth slightly, like he as going to bite her before their was a knock on the door. "What?" He called back at the door lightly licking Lex's lips to taste the vanilla again before kissing her as she dug her nails into his shoulders; the pain didn't faze him.

"Sir, there's someone here to talk to you." Someone said from outside of the door as he continued to kiss her until he resurfaced for breath, panting lightly from the flurry of kisses as he newly discovered this strange sensation. Lex slapped him across the face and he withdrew. "Sir?" Cyrus grabbed her arms roughly, kissing her again but roughly this time and she pushed him off, embarrassed and irritated from what had just happened and he got off of her, standing up.

"Send him in." Cyrus said and Lex sat up, fixing herself before leaving after the person entered, and she went to the bathroom down the hall and stood there with her back against the wood of the door. She bashfully covered her mouth, closing her eyes, regretting that she hadn't fought back and let him steal her first kiss. She sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her folded arms on her knees, hiding her head in this new shelter of hers. What would her pokemon think of her if they saw her like this? "Stupid jerk." Lex sniffed.

~O~ Route 222 ~O~

"Remember, evade!" Raptor said to the others as they ran through the grass behind Jasmine who was following the faint scent of Lex from her jacket. Then, Jasmine stopped completely, the others stopping as well. "What's the matter?" Raptor asked and Jasmine looked back at them.

"I…I lost the scent…" Jasmine admitted, lowering her head and ears. "Sorry…It was really faint to begin with…" The other pokemon comforted her and Raptor thought about it before snorting.

"It's ok, Jasmine." He declared and they looked at him, "Because I think there's a town ahead- Lex always has one of us out, so maybe one of us knows the way to it? If we can just get to that town we can look around for her." Their confidence rose as the others agreed.

"Owly, can't you fly up and check?" Lala asked shyly, "Please?" Owly thought about it and looked at Lala shyly before he nodded and flew up, looking around.

"Keep going straight, there is a town ahead but it's kinda far away." Owly informed them, slowly spiraling back down and landing Jasmine's back. "What do we do? It's going to get dark soon and it will be harder to see or find anything in the dark…" Lala said and Raptor thought about it.

"We should set up camp. Lex would always set up camp at night or go to a poke center with us to sleep." Ravage piped in and Raptor nodded.

"But how can we set up camp if we don't know how to set up the tent?" Jasmine questioned.

"We'll make a temporary tent out of leaves and branches." Owly quipped, "It will be rough but if it's just for the night…" Raptor thought about it and took off the bag. Rummaging through it, and pulled out some fancy black and gold poke balls.

"It gets cold at night." Raptor said, "I think you guys should go in these fancy balls, then I can find somewhere to stay and you guys will be fine. I'm sure a poke center or someone will let me sleep in a house."

"You've done a lot Raptor. Every one has taken naps and you've stayed up." Jasmine said. "I think we should take turns every night. I'll carry you guys." Owly offered. Reluctantly, Raptor agreed and the four other pokemon were helped into the poke balls, the strap put around Owly's neck and he flew off, finding a window sill nearby and sat on it, pecking the window a few times and hooting. The window was opened by a small girl who gasped and said.

"Mommy, Mommy! Look, it's a birdie!" The mother looked over in their warm little house. "Can he sleep over?" "Sure sweetheart." The girl let Owly in and he hopped in as she shut the window and locked it. Picking him up and going off to bed with him, she used him as a sleeping pillow. It was almost like he was back with Lex except she would always put a little blanket around him just incase he didn't want to sleep in the bed. Though she had only been gone for a day he truly missed his owner, even if she wasn't his first one.

0 Pastoria City- Cyrus's safe house 0

Lex had left not too long after Cyrus accepted the person into his office, and had Saturn drive her back to the safe house and let her in. Cyrus put the key in the door and unlocked it before pulling the key out and opening the door. Right as he did, a thick warm smell filled his nostrils and Lex stood at the entrance to the safe house, wearing house slippers and a black and white dress he had gotten her to wear. From her shoulders to bellow her chest, the dress was white and below that it was black and went to her knees. On top of this she wore a light pink apron that went to just below her mid-thigh. "Welcome back." She said, looking down at the piece of paper in her hands.

The first night, he had made a list of things she has to do if she was home alone. One was to make dinner, two was to greet him in wife cosplay, three was to spoon feed him desserts if he was home, and four was to stay inside the safe house. Lex looked up at him and repeated the correct phrase she was supposed to say which was, "Welcome home, Master. I hope your day was pleasant." She struggled to read the paper, "Uh, I just made dinner, so-" "Yeah." Cyrus said, taking the piece of paper from her and she twitched, "Why do you keep looking at this?"

"This transition from 'hard core trainer' to 'house wife/ house-arrest victim' is a bit hard for me." Lex admitted, looking down, "I've been focusing on everything else aside from this position." Cyrus stared at her and she put her hands on his face, surprising him. "Stop it, already."

"Why?" Cyrus asked, setting his things down on the nearby end table by the door and taking her wrists. "Why are you so bothered by it?" He asked and she blushed. "Answer me, Lexia." Lex frowned, her blush fading and she took her wrists back.

"I told you its because it makes me uncomfortable." Lex said, smoothing out some wrinkles in her little apron. "Dinner is done, you got here just in time. I hope you don't mind but I made a western dish-" He put his hands on her hips and her cheeks heated up once again.

"That apron looks very nice on you." Cyrus said, having spent half of the day researching how to make women fall in love with men and one of the courses had something about how women enjoyed being complimented despite how they denied it. "Wha- why can't you stop saying weird things!" She asked and he wrapped his arms around her stomach, her hands on his arms and she tried to push them down, "Let me go-" "I liked that stuff on your lips." "M-my lip balm?" "Yeah. I enjoyed what we had in the office, perhaps we could continue?" "Not in your lifetime." "I don't understand, I'm complimenting you and it seems to have no effect." Cyrus observed, releasing her and she turned to him. "There is no reason that…my source could have been wrong?"

"I'm not a science project or one of your experiments! I'm a human being!" Lex yelled at him and he grabbed her wrist before she could storm off. "Let go of me." She said and he responded, "No." She pushed him but his hold didn't budge. "You're going to eat with me," he informed her in a tone that made the decision indefinite but she struggled anyways. "No!" She snapped back, her face hot with anger. "Experiments shouldn't share the tables with-" "I never said you were an experiment." Cyrus interjected, "Have you fallen for me?" "NO!" "Then I must continue m research. It is as simple as that." Cyrus said and she stood there panting lightly to calm down. She tried to take her wrist back and he looked down, seeing she still wore the ring he had given her the night before, before he looked at her. "Are you going to run off?" He asked bluntly and she stood there, finally calmed down.

"No." She said after a while and he released her. She went to the kitchen like a good obedient house wife and started to serve them both up a plate as he sat down. He wore a suit that day and he loosened his tie, watching her as she quietly put the warm home-made food on his plate. The dress she wore hugged her hips and the apron was tied just in the center of the small of her back. Cyrus put his elbow on the table and put his cheek in his hand as he observed everything that he seemed to normally overlook about her.

Like the fact that her hair was short in some places and longer in others. Even when she didn't mean to, she would play idly with her thumb rings and always avoided touching the one he gave her as if it was some type of curse upon it. Even in the kitchen light, her lips seemed to hold some strange glimmer to them. Perhaps not a glimmer, more like a glistening. Maybe she as wearing more of that lip balm stuff? Her hair wasn't put up either, like the first time he saw her, it was down. Her hair had been clipped up the first time he saw her and her smile. She seemed to like everything but him.

Lex walked over and placed the food on its plate in front of him. It was steak and mashed potatoes. "I used that card Saturn gave me to get some groceries and have them delivered here." Lex explained and Cyrus looked at her as she at down across from him with her own plate. Se probably didn't go out since he'd put her pokemons' lives at stake. She remembered it more than he did, either that or she just really cared for them. They both ate in silence and when he was done, she took his plate to the sink along with her own dish and began cleaning it. He watched her do this as well.

Cyrus felt almost dirty, seeing a glimpse of her hands every so often as they dipped in and out of the possibly warm water to rid their plates of the remnants of their meal. He just sat there, watching, trying to make his gaze not so obvious. She turned off the water and put the dishes in the drying rack. Cyrus went up behind her and Lex turned around, jolting, "Ah! When'd you get there?" Cyrus noticed she was a little shorter than him and she stood there, an awkward air about her.

"How tall are you?" Cyrus asked and Lex looked up at him, "5' 5"." She answered and he decreed, "Not tall enough." Before picking her up and setting her on the counter and kissing her. Cyrus's hypothesis, he discovered, was correct. She was wearing more of that vanilla-flavored lip balm. His hands cupped her butt, as he'd used it to pick her up and set her on the counter. She withdrew and put her hands under his chin, pushing his head up. "Stop it. I have to clean up the cooking mess I made." Lex said and Cyrus paused, looking over at the pans she had used to cook on the stove cooling off on cold burners. "I also have to put the extra food away…" "Leave it." Cyrus said and kissed her again, "The maid will get it later." He concluded and she struggled to pull away, avoiding a good majority of his advances. Until he trapped her wrists with one of his hands, held them above her head and held her jaw with his free hand, "Why do you always have to do this to me?" Lex questioned with a deep blush on her face. "Can't you just keep your distance?" she asked and he thought about it a moment before answering, "No." Then kissed her deeply and against her will as she tried to kick him away, causing him to pull away and question her. "Can't you sit still?" Cyrus asked her and Lex glared at him. "Of course I can't! I don't want you touching me but you just don't seem to stop so I have to try and get free." Lex responded and Cyrus released her wrists then placed his hands on the counter on either side of her legs.

"Is it uncomfortable?" He asked and she looked at him, "I don't know you nor do I like you. Just those things make it really uncomforting." "Do you require a pillow to sit on?" Lex blushed and looked down and away, "It's not…the setting that's uncomfortable. It's the lack of mutual feelings." Cyrus tried to think about this but his mind continued to pull a blank. "Explain this to me." "I don't like you but you want me to. Mutual feelings is about feeling the same." Lex explained and Cyrus untied the apron, taking it off of her. "This problem of 'mutual feelings' can easily be solved by you falling for me." Lex sighed when he said that, knowing too well that he hadn't grasped what she had said. "What would you suggest as a solution?"

"You could not pounce me immediately when you come back and not force yourself on me so much." Lex said and he stared at her before withdrawing. "That's uh be-better." She said, blushing and he hugged her tightly which made her squeak in surprise.

"When your cheeks change color it makes me feel strange as well." Cyrus said and she just held still pressed against his chest. "Tonight you'll sleep in my bed." Lex frowned and sighed since there was no way really out of this situation.


	3. Chapter 3

Smile Junkies

Chapter 3

Owly chirped and slowly eased out of the bed before flying to the window of the small house he'd slept in. He landed on the window sill, looking back at the little girl. Maybe Lex would catch a HootHoot and give it to the girl when they found her? Lex always did those kinds of things. Owly used his beak to open the lock before flying off since the sun was up now. He landed and rubbed the strap around his neck against a smooth light pole, one of the poke balls dropping and he opened it, Jasmine coming from the ball in a beam of red light. "Help me with this, please?" Owly asked and Jasmine nodded, helping get the poke balls off the black strap and opening them, letting everyone out. "Should we destroy these balls too?" Jasmine asked and Raptor thought about it, setting the bag down.

"No, we'll put them back in the bag. No one can catch us if we keep the balls with us." Raptor said, Ravage piping in, "Besides, they look really fancy and it's really nice inside." They put the balls back in the beige duffle bag before Raptor put it around his neck and slung it on his back. "We have to keep to the same direction we were going." Ravage said and they all nodded before heading out again, avoiding trainers and other pokemon, staying in a close knit group so if one fell behind the others would help them catch up. Lex would have been very proud of their team work.

Even in tag team battles they never really seemed to support each other until their trainer vanished. They continued on into the town where they stopped near the entrance to the Great Marsh.

"Ok, let's look around for Lex." Lala exclaimed. "Uh, go-good luck every one." she wished them, Raptor adding, "When the sun goes down, let's all meet up back here!" They all agreed and went off in their separate directions.

0 Pastoria City, Great Marsh 0

Lex stood in the observation deck, looking at a pamphlet of the pokemon that could be caught before bending over and looking through the binoculars to look at the different areas of the Safari Zone as Cyrus came up the stairs to the observation deck. "I'm sure you'd like somewhere else to go," Cyrus said as she stood up and looked at him, "-But my employees all said they wanted an employee vacation here." Lex blinked as he stood next to her and she covered the lower half of her face with the colorful leaflet pamphlet.

"It's alright." She said as she hid a small smile. "I would bring my pokemon here and let them watch me from the TV down stairs. The staff would put a free camera on me as I went through the areas. Other wise my party would cause a fuss." Lex explained and Cyrus chuckled.

"What are you reading now?" He questioned and she handed the little three page pamphlet to him. "It's just a leaflet about the Safari Zone and what pokemon can be found here." Lex answered, looking out the window with an arm across her stomach and her right index finger curled to gently cover the parting of her lips. Cyrus looked at her than the pamphlet, trying to figure out what type of pokemon would suit her preferences best. One of his Commanders (Jupiter) had told him that some women like pokemon to be caught for them and that impressed them.

_Maybe…a Carnivine? _He thought as he read the pamphlet on catching them. 'Rare' it said. _Wouldn't a rare pokemon be best in this situation? _He questioned himself mentally as she looked out of the window, the sun highlighting her hair as she looked at something outside. _No, Carnivine won't work. Something much rarer- Maybe I should ask her. _"So you've come here before?" Cyrus asked casually and she nodded.

"Yes. I was told I could get Carnivines here." Lex replied vaguely before adding, "I didn't know I had to wait for a certain day- I just found them and caught two. One for me, one for trading." Cyrus blinked and looked back at the pamphlet as she leaned down and looked out the binoculars again.

_Two? Then something rare is definitely what I have to get her. _Cyrus looked over the paper, seeing it was harder to get a Psyduck but there was a single percent chance to get a Azurill and an eight percent chance to get an Arbok. _I should try to get one of each…_

Lex sighed, putting her right hand on her cheek, "I don't see them anywhere. Oh well." She said, frowning as he looked up, "If only I had my bag…I could go find one on my own." Lex said disheartened as Cyrus stood there for a moment before voicing, "What's the problem?" Lex turned to him, "I lost my bag with all my things in it and I've been trying to find an Ekans…that pamphlet says there are Arbok here…" Lex looked at the window, "No matter how many times I look out of this window into the Marsh…I can't see any Arboks…even if I did, since I don't have my duffel I can't really pay to catch anything." Cyrus blinked.

"I'm going to go join my commanders. Perhaps you'd like to come?" Cyrus asked and she looked over and gave him a questioning look, "Maybe if you went through the Marsh you'd find an Arbok." Lex blushed faintly.

"Uh, n-no, it's alright." Lex said unwilling to be alone with him again, "Would it be alright if I looked around the town a little instead?" Cyrus didn't like how she rejected his proposal but at least she did it somewhat gently.

"Yes." Cyrus agreed and went down stairs, Lex following him until he paid the staff member and received his thirty safari balls, looking at her, "Do you like Ekans?" He asked and Lex was caught off guard by the question.

"Hm?" She asked before it registered in her mind, "Oh well not particularly but I LOVE Arboks. They just seem really strong. My Aunt had an Arbok and it was very reliable." Cyrus stood there and she looked down, touching all of her finger tips together, "It's sort of like- having a desire to have a pokemon-the equivalent of my ideal man." She said quietly before looking at him, "I'll be here when you get back…Cyrus." Cyrus nodded and stiffly left the building, holding his head as the back of his neck and face felt hot. That weird feeling began to slowly swirl behind his sternum as it did when she smiled and that reddish pink tint came to her cheeks. _Arbok or Azurill! I need an Arbok or an Azurill and then she'll definitely stop putting up such a resistance against me and fall for me! She needs to smile. _Cyrus said, smacking his cheeks lightly, _Get a hold of yourself, Cyrus, keep those emotions down and focus!_ He then went off into the Marsh to find the two pokemon he sought out but that sentence she said kept swirling in his head.

'_Like the pokemon- equivalent of my ideal man' _started to distort itself into something strange each time it appeared in his head with her voice. _'Strong…and reliable…' 'My ideal man.' 'My ideal man is strong and reliable.' _was the final and permanent wording of the sentence, jumbled up and pieced together. There was a hissing sound that broke the vicious yet strangely relief-bringing cycle to his mind, and he looked over, seeing an Arbok in front of him, hissing angrily. Why? Because when Cyrus looked down, he was stepping on it's tail. "Char-Bok! (Back off!)" It said and attempted to bite him before Cyrus jumped back and it bit it's tail instead, "Chhhhhaaaaaaarrrr booooookkkk! (WHY ME!)" It yelled, tears down it's face from the impact on it's own body and it began to lick the wound.

"You're coming with me." Cyrus said and it looked at him before going back to licking it's wound as He threw a poke ball at it, hitting it in the head before it reared up, pissed and got a ball of mud to the face before another pokeball was thrown at it. With not much to see to fight against, it was caught, and Cyrus picked up the pokeball, staring at it.

'_Oh, Cyrus, you caught me an Arbok!' _Lex's voice said in his imagination as she hugged the Arbok and then hugged him, _'_Not as good as an Azurill_, but I've almost completely fallen for you now.' _Lex smiled at him happily, _'Now- I don't need to restrict my self _that much _when I smile towards you…' _

"…I need an Azurill…" Cyrus concluded, wanting the image in his mind to be better and looked around, checking his pace-counter app on his watch. Four-hundred eighty-three. He had seventeen steps left to take before he was disqualified. Cyrus decided to check his inventory. Out of thirty balls, he had fifteen left and he had seventeen steps to go. He'd never find an… "Azz-rill!" Cyrus looked up, seeing an Azurill looking at him adorably. "Azrill?" It asked, smiling as he stared at it.

-With Lex-

Lex wandered the town, feeling helpless without her pokemon as she walked around, sighing, wondering how her pokemon were going before she heard a familiar hoot and looked around. "A Noctowl? But they're not in this area…" She voiced a loud, looking around before a Noctowl came and hovered in front of her and she smiled happily, "Owly!" She offered it her arm and it hooted, landing on her arm and scooting over to her mid-upper arm and rubbed against her, "I missed you Owly." She smiled and it rested on her shoulder, "Do you know where every one else is?" She asked and it hooted, turning it's head to the side, "That way? Alright." She smiled, putting her full trust in.

"Everyone, I found her!" Owly called and the other pokemon of the party stopped, "Let's go to the meeting place!" The other pokemon went to the meeting place as Owly led her there and she smiled happily, "You guys are all here!" Lex said and her Pokemon surrounded her as she hugged them, the familiar scent of her natural sweet apple smelling skin. "How did you rascals get out of your poke balls?" She asked them and they, huddled closely to her, "Poor Raptor. You must have been really worried." Lex said and Raptor nodded, "It's ok, I'm here now, but I've got some bad news." They looked at her attentively. "You guys will have to do in your poke balls for a day or two. I'm really sorry." she said, clasping her hands together to apologize and they accepted, just happy to be back with her.

Since Lex couldn't find their original poke balls she put them in black and gold Luxury balls, the only type she had on her, before she put them in her bag, the black strap in there too, and she carried the duffle bag back into the Entrance building to the Great Marsh and waited for Cyrus who came back after his 500 steps were up. She stood up, her duffel on the seat next to her as she smiled gently to greet him, "Welcome back." She greeted and he nodded, a few of his silver-clad employees returning as well. "Catch everything you needed too?" She asked and he scoffed.

"Yes but there weren't a lot of them worth catching…" Cyrus admitted dully and Lex frowned, "What are those scratches and grass stains from? You're covered in them." Lex voiced and Cyrus looked down at his green grass-stained uniform and he had various nicks and shallow cuts on his face and hands. "They're nothing." Cyrus said, glancing over and seeing her duffle bag, "Is that-?" He started, letting the sentence hang as she looked back at the object of his gaze.

"Oh, yeah it's my duffle bag that I was looking for." She said, "I guess some little mischievous kid dragged it all the way over here and his mother made him turn it in to the poke center's lost and found. I was surprised to have found it." Lex said, "I'm so relieved that none of my stuff is missing." she said, smiling softly and Cyrus watched her, fumbling with the poke balls in his pocket. The Arbok and the troublesome Azurill he'd chased to get.

"…These…" Cyrus said, drawing her blue-eyed gaze as he lowered his head, trying to form words into a sentence. "I don't necessarily need them but I kind of stumbled upon them so…" Cyrus pulled the small poke balls out and put them in her hand, surprising her, "Take them off my hands if you don't mind." Lex looked at them, then him, and blushed faintly.

"If you insist. May I look at them?" She asked and Cyrus nodded, raising his head up as the staff members watched curiously. She opened them both up and let out the Arbok and the Azurill. The mud-faced Arbok hissed and shook off the mud, making her yelp as the flung mud hit her and Cyrus, the Azurill bouncing up and down on it's tail before hitting Lex with water gun. Cyrus stood there and watched, silent and mentally dumbfounded, as Lex stood there, brown hair in her face. Where her clothes weren't muddy, she was soaking wet and she slowly spat out a small fountain of water from her mouth, the Arbok and the Azurill watching.

"Cyrus…" Lex said and Cyrus perked up, snapping out of his shock. "Could I…get a towel?" she asked, closing the balls as a staff member brought one for her, Cyrus handing it to her and she dried her hair mostly, until it was damp and patted her face before brushing her hair back out of her face with her fingers. She then wrung out her clothes the best she could onto said towel and went over to the Arbok that hissed at her, pulling back, "You know you're all dirty- You want me to clean you up or not?" The Arbok slowly stopped hissing and she reached up then began to clean the Arbok's face and muddy hood with the damp towel. "Better, right?" Lex asked and it flicked it's tongue out quietly. "Back in your balls." She said, opening the safari balls and making them return, before she shivered and sneezed, putting the balls away and folding the towel, Cyrus giving it back to the staff member.

"Mars, get her bag." Cyrus said to his Commander, taking off his jacket and putting it on her shoulders as she sneezed a couple more times and sniffed.

"Thank you." Lex said, Cyrus looking at her as he walked her out and she smiled at him, "Even though this happened to me, I really like the pokemon. Thanks a lot." Cyrus nodded, that weird feeling come back, "It looks like the Arbok is hurt though. Do you mind if I bandage it up at you're safe house?" Cyrus shook his head, feeling some-what responsible for how the pokemon treated her. "I'll bandage you up too." She said softly, "you did go through a lot of trouble to get me those two."

When they got to the safe house, Cyrus unwillingly sat through a session of 'doctor-patient' as Lex dabbed his various nicks and cuts with peroxide before putting anti-bacterial ointment on them and smoothly putting a air bubble-free bandage over each one. "It burns." Cyrus grunted for the twentieth time as she dabbed another open cut with a cotton ball touched with a hint of peroxide.

"This is the last one." She assured him and put another bandage on it. "There, all done. No itching." Lex said and Cyrus huffed childishly as he resisted the urge to rip the bandages off. He watched as she gave the same unfeeling regimen to the Arbok who had bit it's own tail and it hissed angrily at her. "Ssh, you, its only a few moments." She told it and the Arbok begrudgingly laid down on it's stomach, wincing as she dabbed a new cotton ball of peroxide (pokemon and human friendly) to the bite marks. She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a different medication for the Arbok, putting a strange, mint-smelling salve into the palm of her left hand and rubbed her hands together, sliding the slippery-textured looking salve on her hands and mostly on her fingers, the Arbok looking at her warily and uneasily. "This helps. Try to relax." The Arbok stared at her before flicking out it's tongue and lying back down as she gently pushed her fingers into the semi-deep holes from the Arbok's own fangs. Cyrus got up and went over to watch as she massaged the salve into the crevices of every scale and the holes themselves and the pokemon sighed almost contently, flicking out it's tongue more.

"How?" Cyrus questioned and she looked at him, her hands moving to another hole and she started the same massage there.

"This salve calms the pokemon and helps speed up the recovery rate for 'minor' wounds like this." Lex explained, "But for it to be effective, it has to be effectively massaged into the area and the area around it. Arboks are one of the most temperamental but if you know where their scales are it's a lot easier. My mom taught me this. She's a Pokemon medic." Lex added and Cyrus nodded. "I'll cut to the chase and not beat around the bush. I found my bag and all of my pokemon were in it." she said bluntly. Cyrus only frowned, knowing that might have been the case. "So…since I have no reason to stay anymore, I'll give this back to you and leave as soon as I bandage up this big softy." Lex said, pointing to the Team Galactic ring on her wedding ring finger.

Cyrus sat there. A part of him- no, a large portion of him- wanted to make up something to keep her. Something, anything, to ensure her staying there. _Anything. _A voice inside of him yelled, _tell her anything. _But he didn't. He watched as she bandaged the Arbok's tail up, clasping it and putting him back in his poke ball, then went to the kitchen to wash her hands of the medical solution. He sat there when she placed the ring next to him, grabbing her bag and leaving him there. Saturn burst in, "Boss, the girl-!" Saturn said with urgency before Cyrus interjected, "Leave her be." Cyrus said and Saturn stood there, Lex walking off. "It's fine. It's fine." Cyrus added, a hand covering his face. "Make sure you keep tabs on her though." He said and Saturn nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Smile Junkies

Chapter 4

Saturn had been assigned to spy and keep track of Lex by Cyrus as he worked on the plan for the perfect world. Until Lex gave him the slip not too long into it by flying away somewhere and now he didn't know where to look. He passed by a pokemon training class in Eternia, "Come on, you can do it! Let's go, go, GO!" Saturn stopped, the door to the building open as well as the windows, the smell of sweat tinting the air lightly and he looked in, the instructor of the class had her back to him- and a familiar Rampardos in the class along with Arbok next to her, "Ok, ready? To the beat now, right, right, left, left, left kick, left kick, Right slide! That's great, keep it on up!" Saturn looked into the room, his hair down and he was ordered to wear normal clothes aside from his uniform since it was mostly an under cover mission. He entered the building.

Lex stood there, sweating but smiling at the same time in a black sports top and black spandex shorts with work out gloves on her hands. "Here's the next part!" she said and the other men and women and their pokemon in the group seemed a little tuckered out. "Take that last bit of effort and put it on the front lines!" She encouraged and the atmosphere changed from tired to excited. "That's more like it! Right foot, right foot, left stomp, left stomp, left elbow jab, right elbow job and we're done!" She went over and turned the music off, panting lightly and smiling. "Good work today, everyone! Towels are in the white bin, and next week don't forget your ankle weights, especially for your pokemon that are in the right weight class. If you don't know what weight class needs what size weights, I posted a chart over on the left wall on the bulletin board." She told them and her Arbok slithered over, grabbing a light blue towel, before slithering back over and giving it to Lex who wiped herself off before tending to her own pokemon that had also been exercising.

Saturn left the building, pulling out his cell phone, "Boss I found her!" Saturn said, "She's, uh, an exercise teacher in Eternia…Oh, um, yes, of course." Saturn hung up and went back into the building, "Uh, mi-miss." Saturn said, Lexia looking over. "My friend is really depressed, could you maybe let me take an encouraging picture of you?" Saturn asked and Lexia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Get lost, pipsqueak." She said darkly, "This isn't my class." Saturn stood there, dumb-founded. "You're looking for my sister, probably. She's busy so I took over her class for her." The woman said, drinking the water she had in her hand.

"Oh? I'm sorry but my friend said to specifically look for her pokemon…" Saturn said, shocked at this rude woman's words. Now that he looked at her, she had green eyes instead of the blue ones Lex had.

~O~ Veilstone Department Store ~O~

Lexia sneezed. "Oh, I hope Champagne is ok with handling my work out class…" Lexia said, looking down at the wedding dress she wore. "Oh, this dress is just perfect! It's tight on me but it will fit Champagne just wonderful." Lex said, the fitting ladies helping her take it off and they put it in a plastic bag for her and she carried it out of the store,

"Lex." She twitched at the sound of her name, being said by a familiar voice. She looked over, seeing Cyrus. Lex frowned and he eyed the white dress. "You're getting married?"

"No, my sister Champagne is soon. I'm just getting her wedding dress." Lex said shyly, "Excuse me." She hastily turned and left him there, Cyrus watching as she vanished somewhere other than that place with her flying pokemon. When she landed in Eternia her sister snapped, "What took you so long?" "So-Sorry, I was held up. Here." Lex said, handing the dress to her sister, as Lex's pokemon returned to her, happy to see her back from her trip.

"Oh wow, it's really pretty. I totally love it!" Champagne said and Lex smiled, blushing faintly, her finger tips touching together. "I'm so glad." She said, her pokemon willingly returning to their poke balls. "I actually broke a sweat with your work out regimen too." Champagne commented and looked Lex over. "You shouldn't do the work out training, you should be a gym leader." "Oh, I can't, I like to move around to much for that." Lex said and Champagne laughed, "Yeah, guess so." Lex sat down on the couch in their small apartment. "So, tell me about this Cyrus guy more." Lex blushed.

"There's nothing to say aside from an egotistical maniac about world conquest." Lex said defiantly and opened up the book she was reading. Champagne looked at her and began to smile, Lex looked over. "St-stop it!" Lex said, blushing more.

"You've always been the same, ever since we were kids, Lexia." Champagne said, Lex blinking and looking at her, "You obviously have some type of crush on him, huh? Yeah, I know you do! Go ahead confess, lil sis. Confess, confess, confess!" "Shut up!" Lex said and Champagne laughed, pointing to her sister, "You'll never have a white-dress ending like me unless you go and tell him that you like him, you know? At least try to see if he feels the same." Lex blushed darkly and stood up abruptly.

"He's as unfeeling as stone!" Lex yelled and Champagne yelled back, "Even stones have some range of feelings!" Champagne got up and grabbed her sister's hands, Lex blushing furiously as Champagne rested her forehead on her little sister's, "Tell me how you really feel." Lex blushed harder, holding her sister's hands tightly.

"H-he does nothing but picks on me! All the time! And he's insensitive and cold and just wants to reap the benefits without putting forth any effort at all!" Lex said harshly, "He's just completely impossible."

"But from what you told me, you stayed with him for a little bit. He couldn't have been that impossible, right?" Champagne said softly and Lex stood there as she pouted because Champagne was right. "He must have some good qualities about him. Can you think of any?"

"…He didn't treat me badly." Lex admitted, trying to think as Champagne smiled, "In Pastoria at the Great Marsh, I said I really wanted an Arbok but I couldn't find one and he found one for me…and an Azurill." Lex said, looking down, "He got all cut up because he got those two for me…" Champagne smirked. Her sister had always had a soft spot for wounded guys. "That guy never went any farther than kissing me either- aside from that one time I told you about but I think that was an accident."

"You see? He has good things about him." Champagne said, patting Lex's head. "Do you need your big sister to help you confess?"

"No, he'll be expecting that. I want him to do it first…" Lex said and Champagne withdrew in surprise. "This time too he'll need to make the first move. Sorry, Champagne." Champagne smiled charmingly at her sister who had always gone out of her way to chase the men she liked, and patted her head.

"Ok, ok, it's alright to be a girl sometimes, you know? Let's hope he figures it out soon, huh?" Champagne encouraged and Lex said, "Today- I saw him outside of the department store." "WHA!"

~O~ Team Galactic HQ, Veilstone City ~O~

Cyrus sat at a budget meeting, bored, "Blahblahblah budget blahblahblah this meeting." Cyrus's mind was elsewhere, lost partially in his imagination. What if that wedding dress hadn't been for Lex's sister? What if- an image of Lex in a long white wedding dress came to his mind and Cyrus had that strange feeling in his chest again and a part of him kept saying 'no'. Cyrus returned to reality, looking past the blank faces of his employees and the budget manager and saw Lex in the door way. She stared at him before turning and walking off.

Cyrus excused himself with the lie that he was going to the bathroom and went down the hall. Lex was at the end of it before she turned and walked off, Cyrus giving chase. Every time he'd go to one hall, she was already at the end of it but it was as if she was waiting before going down another hall. Eventually, she had led him out to the front of the building- where two 'Lex's were. The one he had been following slowly transformed into a Haunter that happily replied, "Han-han-haunter!" Lex smirked. "So- are you Cyrus?" Cyrus felt offended.

"How could you not know that?" He asked and Lex giggled, covering her mouth with her finger tips. She wasn't wearing thumb rings but she wore a ring on each pinkie and she had green eyes instead of blue. "You're not Lex." Cyrus said simply and she crossed her arms, grinning smugly.

"You're right. I'm not. I'm her twin sister, Champagne." She scowled. "Clever. How'd you figure it out?" Champagne said and Cyrus answered, "Your hands." Champagne blinked, caught off guard by his answer. "Lex wears a wring on each thumb and you wear one on each pinkie. Plus you have green eyes." Champagne scoffed.

"Do you know where Lex is?" Cyrus questioned and Champagne nodded. "Then bring her back here." Champagne chuckled.

"No." she said as she looked at him. "How do you feel about my sister? And tell me honestly or I won't bring her at all." Champagne said mischievously but seriously. If he didn't feel mutually about her sister than he wasn't worth having around.

"When…" Cyrus looked down. "When she smiled, when she blushed and when she's just near me- I get this strange feeling that spirals behind my sternum and rib cage," Cyrus said, "Though I don't know why…it feels weird."

_Sounds like this guy's in love and he's too stupid to really realize it. _Champagne told herself mentally, _That…That sister of mine reeled in this fish without knowing it. I need to go home and yell at her but then what do I do about this doofus? _Champagne thought, looking at Cyrus. "Where is Lex?" Champagne pulled out her cell phone.

"I'll show you a picture of her. Kay? so just calm down." Champagne said before holding out her cell phone to Cyrus. On the screen was a picture of Lex with long hair, smiling happily, wearing a white sun dress and a white sun hat with a blue ribbon that was speckled with white stars. Cyrus blushed.

"Send that to me-" "No way." Champagne said bluntly, closing her phone and putting it in her pocket, "Lay off, man, those pictures of my cute little sister are mine. You're going to have to make your own. Come on, Lucky, let's go back home." The Haunter laughed and she laughed too, "You're in a good mood too? Me too!" They laughed together and Cyrus stood there, wondering what type of person Champagne was.

~O~ Eternia City, Lex and Champ's apartment ~O~

"Hey, sis. Sis!" Champagne said, coming in through the door, Lex looking up, the smell of warm food wafting in the air. "OOOOOHHHH! Did you cook?" Lex blushed, standing in the kitchen with an apron on and looked away shyly.

"Uh, well, ye-yes. You didn't come home, so I thought I'd have dinner ready for when you did get home…" Lex said and Champagne happily hugged her sister.

"You're so cute! You're like the perfect housewife!" Champagne complimented and Lex blushed more, a small smile on her face. "I met that guy, you know, the 'Cyrus' one?" Lex twitched and Champagne rested her fore arms on her little sister's shoulders. "He's a little on the slow side but he and Lexia will make a good couple, you know? He's dumb and you're so cute everything else is kinda over-powered by your cuteness." Lex frowned. "He said he really wants too see you and I showed him a picture from when we did modeling for the department stores." Lex blushed harder. "He was funny too- said he wanted me to send the picture to him. Funny guy right? Funny, stupid guy."

"You met him?" Lex said and Champagne nodded. "Let-Let's just have dinner." Champagne smiled and sat down, Lex serving them up plates.

"I think he missed you." Champagne said and Lex almost dropped the plate, catching it and continued putting food on it. "I made Haunter look like you and he chased Haunter all the way to me. He wouldn't do that if he didn't have any interest. Men don't chase things without a reason." Champagne smiled, imagining her cute sister with their gloomy stranger- then she destroyed the thought. "On second thought, if Lex might end up moving in with him just from confessing then I think I'll keep you two apart. That way you can stay here forever." Champagne said but she was already concocting a plan for the two of them as she made small talk with her adorable sister.

~ Next Day ~

"No, Champagne, stop this is near-" "The Team Galactic HQ, I know, I know." Champagne said, dragging her sister behind her by the hand as she carried a bundle tied neatly in a checkered blanket. Lex wore a long black skirt and a short sleeved red top aside from her usual red plaid mini dress (a gift from Champagne) as Champagne wore a long-sleeved red shirt and a black mini skirt, the two going up to the secretary, "Hey, I have an appointment with the Boss. Call him down, ok?" Champagne said, grabbing her sister's skirt as Lex attempted to sneak off. The secretary made a call and not too long after, Cyrus himself came down and looked at Lex, who stood up with her sister.

Champagne pushed Lex forward and she stumbled forward, closer to Cyrus and the two made eye contact. After a long silence, the first to break the ice was Cyrus, "How is…the Arbok?" He asked and she blushed.

"It's very well and so is the Azurill, thank you very much. I named the Arbok, 'King' and the Azurill, 'Jackie'." Lex said and Cyrus nodded and stared at her. "I made too much food last night… enough for two lunch boxes, so my sister suggested that we eat together." "She tricked me yesterday." "I'm sorry for my sister, Champagne." Cyrus leaned down and pecked her on the lips and she blushed five shades of dark red. "That book you took an interest in, I have notes about it up in my office. Perhaps we could eat there?" Lex smiled gently, "Yeah, ok." Champagne smiled, before seeing Cyrus kiss her again. "That's enough pedo-bear." Champagne thundered and Cyrus pulled away, irritated by the intrusion, "I brought my own lunch too so let's all eat together so I can supervise- I mean, get to know you." Champagne said, smiling cheekily and Cyrus grumbled wordlessly, rubbing the back of his neck as Lex blushed faintly.


	5. Chapter 5

Smile Junkies

Chapter 5

Cyrus hungrily ate the lunch Lex had made for him and, despite how grossed out Champagne was, Lex was happy he at least liked it and ate so whole-heartedly. "Ew." Champagne said as he finished and handed the lunch box back to Lex who took it and put it with her finished lunch box, tying the hand kerchief together quietly. "So, since you've already done dirty things with my sister, you going to marry her, Mr. Gloom?" Champagne asked as Cyrus drank from a glass of water, choking upon it when the questioned was asked before regaining his composure.

"I have no interest in marriage." Cyrus said but looked at Champagne when he said it, then looking at Lex. "Thank you for the food." Lex nodded and he stared at her and she stared back before they both looked down at the table awkwardly. "I'll…go pull up that file." He said as he got up from the table and went to the computer in his office where they all sat. Champagne opened her mouth but Lex put her hand on her sister's, shaking her head. Champagne closed her mouth and they sat there quietly. "Here." Cyrus said and Lex got up as he moved out of his desk chair to let her sit down, and he sat with Champagne. After a while, Lex finished it, noticing on the tab panel at the bottom of the screen something titled 'World Plan'. She clicked it and read it in silence holding back any emotion about it.

The entire file was a collection of ideas and planning about making another world by destroying their current world with the help of something called a 'Red Chain' and Dialga. Lex flipped over to the notes file Cyrus had opened for her, "Sorry." Lex said, the two looking over. "Champagne and I were really rude by intruding without a word before hand. I think we should go before we over stay our welcome." Lex said and Champagne was surprised, "Right, Champagne?" Lex added and Champagne nodded, "Uh, yeah you're right." Cyrus stood up.

"It was a…uh…not intruding." Cyrus said, the look in Lex's eyes was dull and empty. "It should be fine if you stay a little longer."

"No, we really shouldn't." Champagne said, laughing as Lex stood next to her, grabbing the lunches. "Like she said, it's rude. We'll leave now. Later, Mr. Gloom." Champagne said and the two left. "Lex?" Lex stood there, quiet before she summoned her Notctowl and had the two of them transported back to Eternia City. "Lex." Champagne said and Lex got into the house where she fell to her knees and cried.

-Next Day-

Cyrus stood in a flower shop with Jupiter and Mars, staring at a bouquet of roses. "The rose colors mean different things, Boss." Mars informed him, "Yellow is friendship and red is love." Cyrus looked at the yellow roses then the red.

_The red is prettier… but the yellow is a nice color. Maybe there are different colors? _Cyrus thought, staring at them. He sighed, _These flowers seem very insufficient. Perhaps another pokemon? She liked the Arbok and the Azurill… Tomorrow… I'll be summoning Dialga to destroy this world so… _He reached for the yellow ones then pulled his hand away. _'Hi, I'm Cyrus, you're about to be dead but let's be friends' these yellow roses say or… _He looked at the red ones again, _'Hi, I'm Cyrus, you're about to be dead but I love you.' Hm. Seems better than the yellow ones…_

"Sir, you seem to be having trouble," the Clerk said, drawing Cyrus's attention. "Can you not find a color to say what you want?" the Clerk asked, hitting the head on the nail and he nodded. "I have a pamphlet here that tells you the meaning of the colors of roses. Do you think it will help?" Cyrus nodded again and took it, reading it and looked at the roses, grabbing a yellow one with a red tips and took the thorns off,.

"I'll get this." He said, grabbing two more roses. "These too." Cyrus added and the Clerk smiled, Jupiter and Mars looking over in curiosity.

~O~ Eterna City, later that day ~O~

Lex and Champagne watched TV in the living room, "That guy is really dumb." Champagne said as she popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, Lex looking over. "He should have said 'I'm really interested in marriage' and asked you to marry him right then and there. Idiot. I hope he knows what he'll be losing." Champagne concluded sourly as she watched the TV drama that the TV offered. There was a soft knock on the door, drawing Lex's Arbok's attention and it raised it's head before flicking it's tongue. Lex stood up and looked at it.

"Sssshh." she said and it looked at her and she put her hand up and lowered it, the Arbok lying back down as almost completely synchronized with the hand movement and purred happily as Lex went to the door. She opened it, looking around into the hall before looking down. Three roses were on the ground and she picked them up.

One was yellow with red tips and the other two were yellow and they had a small book about roses color meanings. She opened it up and looked at it, seeing circled words.

'Yellow with Red Tips: Friendship, (Falling in Love)'

'Yellow: Joy, gladness, friendship, Delight, Promise of a new beginning, Welcome Back, (Remember me), Jealousy and ("I Care").'

Lex smiled as she read it and at the bottom of the card was scribbled '-Cyrus'. "I think…" Lex said, smelling the roses. "I think he knows what he means, Champagne."


	6. Chapter 6

Smile Junkies

Chapter 6

Cyrus sat in a chair, in this new world he had made with Dialga. Many had opposed him but they had all fallen and he finally got what he wanted- his own world without emotions, Dialga next to him. Unfortunately, the world had to be made on a parallel dimension since it would have taken too much time to overwrite years of history, or so said Dialga. He sat in this comfy chair in this quaint little house in a quaint little town where all the people were emotionless like him and he was their god. "It's really lonely." Cyrus voiced, Dialga looking at him.

Everything wasn't like how he pictured. Everything was to be perfect but everything was so very cold and hollow. He had been here a week and he was bored and Dialga didn't like him enough to hold a lengthy conversation with him. It was more of a spite-fueled debate than a pleasant observation on various topics. This time, Dialga spoke first though.

"_In the Christian Bible, 'God' created the first humans in his Garden- Adam and Eve." _Dialga said and what Cyrus thought was to be a boring discussion about religion was actually a realization to him, _"Perhaps you need an 'Eve'? Of course, 'God' made 'Lilith' for Adam but they were incompatible, thus, he made 'Eve' from two of Adam's ribs." _

Cyrus looked at Dialga, "Are you saying that you're going to make me someone out of my ribs?" Dialga looked at him with boredom, _"Do I look like I want to touch you?" _Dialga was also somewhat of an asshole. Cyrus thought about it. He was right, maybe he needed an 'Eve'. An Image of Lex appeared in his head briefly before Cyrus stood up, "Dialga, take me back to that old, defective world." _"Your mom is 'defective'." _"Enough of your jokes." Cyrus said and Dialga snorted, _"I can't- No- I won't." _"Why not?" Cyrus said as Dialga got up,

"_I can't guarantee everything will be the same. We are on a parallel dimensional panel, yes, but time passes differently. I can't promise you that it will be like how it was when you left." _Dialga said and Cyrus thought about it, "So- A week here could be a month or something there?" _"Perhaps. I won't be able to tell the exact time span until we arrive and it's hard to pin-point a certain time. It's like throwing a…a poke ball sized net into the ocean and hoping you catch a fish. If you still wish to risk it, then I will take you." _Cyrus thought about it then nodded. He still wanted to see her. "Yeah." Dialga nodded and the room began to twist and turn before it changed into the flowery fields of Floaroma Town.

"Floaroma Town? Really?" Cyrus said and Dialga let out a short cry, _"Like I said. Trying to catch a fish with a pokeball-sized net."_ "Eternia City is where she lives." Cyrus said, looking at Dialga and it lowered it's neck, _"You're not riding me there, if that's what you think." _It told him and Cyrus frowned, "I wasn't thinking that." Dialga raised it's head. _"Since we are now on the plane, I can move us with more ease." _Dialga said and the environment twisted again until it became Eternia City. Cyrus went to the apartment complex that Lex and Champagne lived in, Dialga stopping him before he went in, _"You should take caution." _Cyrus looked over, Dialga behind him, _"From the time you left with me, eight years have passed. You may not be welcomed with open arms." _Dialga was right.

Cyrus went down to the first floor where a woman was getting her mail, "Excuse me." He said, the woman looking up, "On the third floor there used to be two sisters. Lex and Champagne. Do you know if they're still there?" The Woman frowned,

"Oh…No, they aren't. I guess you haven't heard." The Woman said, "The girl, Lexia I think? She died." Cyrus stiffened, "A year or two ago maybe? Not too long after she became Champion of the Elite Four I think. Her sister is the care taker of the grounds that her body is on, I think it's called 'Rose Valley'." Cyrus bowed and left, turning to Dialga,

"How!" Dialga looked at him. "How?" Dialga looked up towards the sky for a moment then back at him. _"I am not sure." _The environment distorted and became vivid once more. _"This is 'Rose Valley'." _Dialga voiced and Cyrus looked around.

There were in the bottom of a canyon, a crystal clear river cutting through it, rocks on either side to keep things from coming in or going out, and pokemon roamed freely and naturally though this wasn't a habitat for any of them. There were cacti on the canyon cliffs and bird pokemon here and there. There was also a little house- and something floating in the middle of the river, unmoving, and a small pathway to it. Cyrus and Dialga watched as a woman with black hair came out of the house with a huge bucket of poke chow. "Come and Get it!" She called and the bird and land pokemon leisurely made their way towards her as she put poke chow in a variety of little bowls with names, before carrying a different bucket towards the fixture in the middle of the river and threw more poke chow in the water for the water pokemon.

Cyrus noticed a familiar Azurill, sitting on top of something, "Now, you know you're not supposed to be there." Champagne said but it squeaked and held it's ground. "That's enough out of you. Go eat or something." It squeaked defiantly and pouted before Champagne said "FINE!" and walked off. Cyrus and Dialga ventured over. On the fixed land mass was a glass coffin and in it, was Lex's body, hands clasped above her sternum, and a peaceful expression on her face. _"There's a lot of pokemon here but they don't look lost." _The pokemon weren't lost and Cyrus knew this. They were all her pokemon, peacefully living in an isolated area away from everyone else.

"Take me back to earlier. Before this happened." Cyrus told Dialga that looked at him, _"Why should I? If I took you back, you changing these events may have dire consequences." _"Just a year or two." Dialga let out a short cry, _"I can't." _"You mean you won't?" _"No, I mean I CAN NOT. A year or two is too risky." _"Then what?" _"I can take us back four years but then if you want me to move time again I can only return us to the other planet." _Cyrus thought about it. Four years? Beggars couldn't be choosers but… "Take me four years back then but to Eternia City." _"I see your self-centeredness has put you on the path to be flung head-first into destruction." _Dialga said before the environment distorted as Cyrus slowly got over the fact that what he saw was a future that could be changed.

Cyrus entered the apartment building, going to Champagne and Lex's apartment and knocking on the door. Champagne opened it up and blinked in surprise, "Oh, uh, Cyrus, right?" Champagne asked and Cyrus nodded, "Oh, this is for my sister." Champagne said and back handed him across the face. "No one makes her cry!" Champagne yelled and Cyrus regained his composure, "Why are you here anyways, Mr. Gloom?"

"To…well…see Lex." Cyrus said and Champagne sighed,

"Too bad, she's not here." Champagne said as Cyrus immediately thought she was dead, "She's at the Match-Maker today." "Match-Maker?" Cyrus questioned and Champagne nodded, "Once you vanished she did a few more things before deciding to settle down so she met up with a Match-Maker to go on those arranged-marriage dates trying to find a husband." Cyrus looked down and Champagne smirked impishly, "You know, I may not like you as a person but you make Lex really happy so I'll help you out." Cyrus looked at her and Champagne held up a blank application, "But first, we gotta fill this out, ok?"

(A/N: In Japan there are still traditionalists about arranged marriages though some families are too shy to ask neighbors. Thus, they hire a Match-Maker, or someone who sets up 'meetings' between traditionalist young people who are looking for a spouse. A parent/ guardian attends each meeting, one per candidate, and the young people meet. There is usually a high success rate though modern Japan now has more couples freely marrying without a match maker.)

-Match-Maker, Eternia City-

"Thank you for your time, Lexia." The candidate said, him and his mother bowing before leaving as Lex looked at the Match-maker, "Looks like a twenty-percent chance really isn't a good match for you." Lex frowned, "Maybe you're better off a trainer than a wife, dear?" The Match-maker said as she tried to be enthusiastic and encouraging but Lex only lowered her head.

"Match-Maker, there's someone else here who's not on the list." A boy said, coming into the room and giving a piece of paper to the Match-Maker woman who looked it over. "D-Dear me!" The Woman said and Lex looked over at her curiously, "Send him in right away. A hundred percent match up with you, dearie!" Lex blinked at the rare occurrence but tried to smile, too tired from sitting in a stuffy room with even stuffier men. In came Cyrus, attended by Mars, and Lex blushed. "Please sit down." The Match-Maker said and Cyrus knelt down on the cushion across from her in a traditional kimono with his hair down and Lex blushed.

Her own kimono was black with gold embellishes and the ruff of it was black fur. Her hair was also up in a bun. Dialga also barged in, standing behind Cyrus and looked at Lex. "Please tell us about your self Mr-" The Match Maker said and Cyrus interjected, "Cyrus." He said sharply, "As the paper says, I am strong, reliant and strong willed." Lex blushed and Mars laughed nervously, having let him the kimono and did his hair, "Lexia," Lex twitched to attention, "There is no possibility for a ending solution unless you are part of the equation." Cyrus said and she stared at him, "That…Came out wrong." Cyrus said, lowering his head, trying to think of something else but there was the sound of something joyful and he looked up. It was Lex laughing,

"Hahahaha." Lex laughed as she smiled and stopped, still smiling at him and His cheeks felt hot looking at her, "Ok." She said, accepting his awkward way of asking her to marry him, "But I have one condition." She said and put her finger tips together shyly, "I know you really don't like this place. It has it's flaws, like everyone and everything it supports but that's what's beautiful about this place. All the flaws. So if you could just give this place another chance I'd be really grateful." Cyrus nodded,

"Alright." He said, sitting up and pushing his bangs up with a hand, a few strands still in his face and she smiled, "Have you fallen for me yet, Lexia?" The Match-maker and Mars watched, mesmerized by the adorable scene as Lex smiled,

"Yes…I think I have, Cyrus." Lex answered and he blushed, grumbling something and she smiled softly, "Emotions aren't that bad. They let you express what you feel the most. It's what helps me smile." Cyrus nodded, "OH and by the way, I really want kids." He blushed harder,

"Wait- how old are you?" Cyrus asked and Lex blushed a little darker,

"I'll be twenty-five this up coming week." Lex said and Cyrus did the math. Unfortunately he wasn't the best at math. "I was nineteen when we first met." Cyrus nodded and she smiled, the two bowing at one another to conclude the meeting, "Please take care of me." "Me too."


	7. Chapter 7

Smile Junkies

Chapter 7

All of Cyrus's bank accounts were the same, even four years in the future-and his money ad tripled but he was still uneasy as he stood in the safety deposit box vault, his safety deposit box on the table and Dialga next to him. "Is this amount…really enough?" He wondered aloud, looking at the paper statement from the bank clerk, a few pokeballs in his deposit box. "Is this amount really a good net to raise a family on?"

"_I think it's far more than enough." _Dialga said and he looked at the legendary pokemon, _"You shouldn't over think things like this."_ Cyrus grabbed a pokeball and closed the box, putting it away before leaving to go back to the small house.

"Welcome home." A warm voice greeted him when he entered the small house out in Eterna, Lex kneeling on a small cushion on the edge of the wood flooring that entered the house and he nodded, "I made dinner. Would you like some before you go and train?" She asked and Cyrus nodded again before she stood up, "Then please excuse me. I'll go make you and Dialga a portion." She said and left for the kitchen as Cyrus leaned his head against the wall, unable to look at her. Dialga happily went into the house and into the kitchen for his meal.

Since the arranged meeting, the two had started living together in this quaint house that had once been one of his safe houses. Even so, he still had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that she had agreed to marry him and he had asked her, not to mention they were to be wed in a few mere months. The thought of having children with Lex was so sweet that the sound of their laughter filled his head, but the process of conceiving and the intimacy that would produce such results unnerved him. "Come eat Cy-" Lex said, stepping into the hall way, pausing as he gloomily leaned against the entry wall, "Cy-Cyrus? What's wrong?" She asked and Cyrus looked away from her, putting his shoes back on.

"I'm going for a walk." He said bluntly, turning and leaving the house as she stood there, a hurt expression on her face.

"Alright but be back soon or your food-" "Will get cold, I know." Cyrus interjected and shut the door behind him as she watched him leave, sighing and looking at the floor.

_It must be me. He does this everyday. It must be me. _Lex thought wryly, sighing again and going to the kitchen to sit at the table. "Looks like it's just me and Silver Star." She smiled weakly at Dialga who looked up at her from his meal.

"_Yeah, ok. I like the name you gave me." _Dialga answered and they ate with minimal conversation.

-A Park near the House~

Cyrus sat on a bench and watched the children playing, smiling, and laughing with their parents. Would he be a suitable parent? All the things he had done to Lex- Why had she accepted his 'heat of the moment' proposal? The half-hearted offering that he needed to make the ground for his full-hearted confession? He needed her but was this the best way to go about it? "May I sit here?" Someone asked and he nodded, scooting over a little as someone sat next too him while he was wrapped up in his own thoughts. "Can I…ask you something?" He broke free from the mental whirlwind of questions and looked over, Lex sitting next to him and this made him blush faintly. "Am I- doing a bad job?" She asked, a Tupperware bowl in her lap with a spoon on top. "Do you leave for walks all the time because I'm doing a bad job?" She covered her face. "I'm trying really, really hard you know with what I have to work with." Cyrus frowned as he listened to her. "You always leave for a really long time when you get to the house and you hardly eat. You won't talk to me and you're gone for hours on end… Am I the problem?" Cyrus realized that he hadn't even considered the repercussion of his actions. She was on the verge of tears because he had been so self-absorbed he had forgotten about her.

He reached over and took her hands away from her face and she looked up at him before he kissed her and she blushed darkly, "Cyrus-" "It's not you, it's me." He told her and she stared at him, before he held her hand and looked at the playing children. "I come and watch them. They're all replicas of their parents. Each and every single one." He said, referring to the children, "I have dreams and day dreams of our own but I'm…shaken…by the thought that perhaps I am not the best person to be a parent." He told her and she stared at him, "I don't think I'm intimate enough to go 'all the way' to help make them either. I would be helpless in the bedroom. You want children and I want to give them to you, but these are the blockades that stop me. I didn't think that not considering your opinion on my own problems would distress you."

She smiled. "These things you think about are the types of things we both must think about." She told him, opening the Tupperware bowl, "Please eat and if something crosses your mind we can discuss it." Cyrus took the bowl and helped himself as she smiled and he kissed her cheek.

"I think the way things were before was best." She blushed at his words. "We should resume that type of relationship." Lex frowned slightly, and he pulled out the poke ball, "Accept this as a late wedding gift." "You mean early wedding gift?" "Just accept it." She took it and put it in her pocket.

"I plan on going to the Pokemon League." She told him and Cyrus looked at her, "So, I'm going to start training at Victory Road soon. I wanted to know if I could borrow Dialga. I think he'd make a good addition to my team." Cyrus thought about it. Victory Road? That meant- she was thinking about going to the pokemon league? An image of her, pregnant, and fighting against the elite four all by herself popped into his head.

"If you're going to the Pokemon League, then I'm going with you." Cyrus said bluntly and she looked at him,

"But, uh, your pokemon need a lot of training and mine just need a bit." Lex pointed out, "Since I brought this all the way over here, could you please eat it?" She asked, offering him the Tupperware and he accepted it, opening up. The food was still warm and still smelt great and he helped himself.

"Your cooking unnerves me as well." Cyrus admitted as he ate and she frowned, "Really?" She questioned and he nodded, "It's because- if I don't eat it quickly and take in the flavor and the aroma, I might never stop gorging myself on it." "Is that a compliment that my cooking is really good?" "Yes."

'_What now? This period of peace definitely won't last forever.' _Lex thought as he ate and finished his food.

"Is there more at the house?" Cyrus asked and she looked over, "Yes." She replied and he stood up and tilted her chin a little, "Have you finally fallen for me yet?" She laughed, smiling, and he grinned before they both left the park.

-Next Morning-

Cyrus stretched in his bed, yawning and looking over, the other side of the bed empty. _'That's right. We don't sleep in the same bed.' _He thought, expecting to see Lex sleeping next to him. He got up and turned on the shower, washing himself off before exiting the shower and pulling on a fresh pair of boxers and pants, exiting the room. The Kitchen smelt of warm food again, and a large breakfast still fresh from the stove awaited him with a note that Cyrus picked up,

'Went out for an exercise, took your pokemon with me, Sorry. Be back soon. -Lex'

"How hasty." Cyrus said, sitting down as Lex panted else where, running through the forest, her own team of pokemon behind her as well as Cyrus's as they jumped over fallen logs and through tall grass,

"Come on, let's go go go!" Lex cheered and the pokemon cheered enthusiastically behind her until they returned back to the house, the pokemon ran rugged with the extreme exercise program. Cyrus's pokemon were bent out of shape while her own team was still hyped up and ready for more. "Let's take a break!" She went into the house, Cyrus sitting on the couch with a pile of books next to him, slim-frame glasses on as he read one and she stood there in awkward silence.

All of the titles of the books facing her. All of them about sex.

"Welcome back." He greeted, getting up and she turned away and went directly to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. "Is there something bothering you?" He asked from the other side of the door as she drew the water for a bath and the steam from the hot water fogged up the mirror and the glass of the window. "Is it the books?"

"No, Cyrus, it's the fact that you're wearing glasses." She said sarcastically as she got in the bathtub and he self-consciously took the glasses off. "Why are you reading stuff like that?"

"I'm educating myself on the procedures and processes of intercourse and making you happy." Cyrus said bluntly, "I know nothing of the subject so I thought I'd study-"

"Don't study in the house, not in the house! It's making it really awkward in here." Lex called back, sinking into the hot water, a dark blush on her face. He'd get ideas from that book and she'd start to be the guinea pig and that's not what she wanted. Cyrus collected the books and left to sit in the backyard.

"You got a letter in the mail." Cyrus said and Lex washed herself off, "Do you want me to slide it under the door?" He asked, setting his research down and picking up the letter,

"A Letter?" Lex said curiously, "Ok, slide it over please." He slid it under the door and it slid across the floor before hitting the tub and she picked it up. _Who could it be from? _She wondered. It had no return address. She opened it up and pulled out a strange green-crescent moon necklace with a red bead as well as an old, worn out pass of some sort, and a note. She took the note out.

'This necklace a Lunar Wing necklace. It ward off bad dreams. There also be a pass enclosed. It a member Pass that will allow you entry onto Newmoon Island for special event you have been invited to. You can come only by the ferry at Canalave City.' (A/N: It is purposely made to look like this.)

Lex's eyes lit up with excitement, "A special event?" She said, finishing up and leaving the bathroom in a towel, going to the second bedroom (her room) to change and Cyrus followed her but stood outside until she was dressed. Last time he tried going in she beat him up with a pillow. She put on the necklace and exited the room, the necklace attracting Cyrus's attention.

"Who gave that to you?" He questioned and she looked at him,

"Don't know." She answered, "I got a pass to some special event though."


End file.
